[Sigma District]
Outside the police station, countless people were protesting and demonstrating.
"Severely punish the murderous demon Olov!"
"Kill Olov! Avenge the innocent people!"
"Olov, you dog-born bastard! Don't hide in the police station like a turtle!"
Inside the police station, everyone looked extremely grim.
Some people had resentful eyes, some cursed in low voices.
All of them glanced, intentionally or not, toward the director's office in the center.
The office door was tightly shut, curtains fully drawn.
As if isolated from the world.
As if it had nothing to do with anything outside.
Inside the director's office.
An elder with silver hair sat on the sofa, one hand clenched, the other holding a cigar between his lips.
His expression was full of fatigue and despair.
Beep! Beep!
Olov slowly exhaled a smoke ring, then loosened his clenched palm.
It was a small black cellphone.
He glanced at the caller ID.
[004]
Olov directly hung up and ignored it.
He picked up the coffee on the table to drink, but as the cup reached his lips, he realized it had already gone cold.
He hesitated, but still drank it all in one go.
Beep! Beep!
He looked at the black cellphone again.
[002]
Olov answered the call.
["007, why are you throwing a tantrum again?"]
The slightly reproachful tone from the other side made Olov's gaze instantly turn cold.
"002, ever since I returned to the Safe Zone, I've had this feeling that you all have changed."
["Changed? That's a vague statement, really strange."]
"You've become a bit excessively ruthless."
["007, what are you trying to say?"]
"You had me come to the Sigma District, take the role of police chief, and handle the incitement cases from the Samsara Church. I came. And then?"
["And then? Didn't everything get handled?"]
"Your so-called 'handled' means letting 004 slaughter thousands indiscriminately, then pinning all the blame on me?"
["007, the principle of eliminating weeds by the root to prevent future trouble—do I need to teach that to you? You've acted as a Bear Nation citizen for so long, have you forgotten all the doctrines you once studied?"]
"Eliminating weeds? Do you think I'm a three-year-old child?"
Olov sneered, "Of all the recent massacres over the past half month, only two were related to Samsara Church members. As for the rest, we both know the real reasons."
["007, I think your views are getting too extreme. You're not considering the bigger picture anymore. You must remember, everything we do is for humanity."]
"002, that's hilarious. I didn't kill a single person, yet I'm the one disregarding the bigger picture? You killed that many people, and it's all 'for humanity'?"
["I think I can't reason with you anymore, 007."]
"If reasoning doesn't work, then I'll speak plainly."
Olov said flatly, "The people 004 killed, let him clean up his own mess. I'm not taking the blame."
["We're all on the same side, why make things so difficult?"]
Olov slammed a fist on the table: "Same side? Would someone on the same side wear my clothes, use my gloves to kill people? Would someone on the same side spread rumors on forums, dump filth on me? Would someone on the same side hint to officials in the police department not to protect me, and instead send me to prison to calm public outrage?"
Then he sneered again: "Well, I guess only someone on the same side could pull off something like that."
"Throughout history, the downfall of powerful groups mostly came from betrayal by their own."
The voice on the other end turned somber: ["007, your anger is too much. I think you need to calm down. We can talk again later."]
"Don't hang up yet. I'm not finished. 002, I can feel the change in your attitude toward me."
"I know, you all think that because I changed bodies, my Sequence abilities aren't what they used to be, and all my God-Hunting Weapons were taken away, so I'm no longer important. Plus, my ideology doesn't match yours, and I've killed one of our own, so you've been sidelining me."
"This time, you even want to use the slaughter charges to throw me in jail. Maybe even have me killed in there, right?"
["007, how could that be? You just need to endure a little—"]
"I've endured enough."
Silence on the other end of the phone for a moment.
["What, 007? Are you thinking of exposing us?"]
"002, you're testing me again. Expose you? How? The forums are under your control, the phones are tapped by you, and the killings are carried out by you in droves. Even if I speak out, who would hear it?"
["Then what do you want to say?"]
"Hold a meeting. Let's talk openly and honestly."
["007, everyone is very busy. A meeting might not be possible. I'm busy too, so let's not talk for now…"]
"Did you really think that just because I've been studying God Crow's Eye and minding my own business, I'm an honest idiot? Did you ever wonder why I chose Olov's body?"
["…What do you mean?"]
"You don't think that after awakening as a Sequence earlier than you all by several years, I've done nothing except build the Safe Zone, do you?"
["007, what exactly are you trying to say? What's with Olov's body?"]
"I knew it."
Olov chuckled, "You, or rather, you all, definitely suspected that Olov's body held some secret. But you found nothing, right?"
["…007, I don't have time for riddles. Speak clearly or this conversation is over!"]
"Calm down. Go outside and look up above your head."
["…Fine."]
The sound of a door opening came from the other end.
Roughly ten seconds of silence followed.
["007, th-this… was this you? H-how did you do it?"]
Olov's tone was calm, "That's not important. I have two demands."
"First demand, make 004 come out and take responsibility for the slaughter. How he handles it is his problem."
["Huh? 007, that puts 004 in a tough spot. Why not talk to him directly—"]
"He's been acting way out of line lately, bossing me around every day. I don't want to talk to him."
["007, this has nothing to do with me."]
"Don't pretend. Without your permission, 004 wouldn't dare act like this."
Olov continued, "If 004 can't wash the filth off me, then I'll go to you. If you don't understand the consequences of that, let me give you a reminder."
"Take a walk in District 1 and stand in front of the last 003's grave. You'll remember."
Silence again from the other end. Then a flat reply: ["Understood."]
"My second demand: Remote meeting. Everyone must attend. You organize it, I'll preside."
["But 000 and 001 have been out of contact lately."]
"Those two are always off doing their own thing. I can't control them—let them be."
"But if anyone else doesn't show, I'm still coming after you."
The other side sounded troubled, ["I… can't guarantee that everyone will definitely attend."]
Olov sneered, "Before, you couldn't. But now, you definitely can."
"002, don't betray my trust. Goodbye."
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